The turmoil across the Middle East that has toppled the rulers of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya has also translated into slower economic growth, causing governments to hand out billions in an effort to create jobs and counter rising living costs.

The Arab central bank governors “expressed their fears from an expected drop in growth rates this year,” they said after meeting in Qatar’s capital.

Yemen’s central bank governor, Mohamed bin Humam, said his country’s political crisis may cause the economy to shrink this year after eight months of unrest.

“I don’t know how much. We don’t have such data from the real sectors so we can’t assume, but it could be negative. It is difficult to tell without having such data for that,” Humam said.

The IMF forecast in April that economic growth in Yemen, where some 40 percent of its 23 million people live on less than $2 per day, would slow to 3.4 percent in 2011.

The central bankers said they planned to call for more short-term financial support for Arab countries hit by unrest at the IMF and World Bank meetings being held next week in Washington.

“They affirmed ... especially ... the importance of securing more financial support from international institutions in the short term to contribute to reaching a complete financial stability in Arab countries affected by the latest events,” the governors said in a statement.

Group of Eight finance chiefs pledged $38 billion last week in financing to Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan over 2011-13, widening a deal agreed in May and offering Libya the chance to partake, too.

The IMF promised a further $35 billion in funding to countries affected by Arab Spring uprisings. It said this week it was ready to provide external financing to Libya or Egypt.

The central bank governors also said they would offer support to each other, while Sudan’s central bank head told Reuters he had asked fellow Arab countries to deposit funds in the North, which lost 75 percent of oil production after South Sudan gained independence in July.

“The governors expressed their support to all central banks in Arab countries that are witnessing political developments and transformations,” they said.

Egypt’s military rulers turned down an offer of $3 billion from the IMF in June, but are close to securing loan agreements with Saudi Arabia and the UAE worth several billions of dollars. Another $500 million for Egypt is expected to come from the Arab Monetary Fund.

“I have requested the governors to deposit some reserves in the central bank and also in Sudanese commercial banks,” Sudan’s central bank governor, Mohamed Kheir Al-Zubeir, said after the meeting in Doha’s luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel.

Arab finance ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi recently said their economies could withstand political upheaval and a global slowdown thanks to ample cash reserves and mutual support.